THE SOCIAL INSTITUTION OF MEDICINE. PART I

Abstract

The concept of social institution correlates to period of becoming of sociology as a science and is related to classical works of O. Comte, E. Durkheim and G. Spencer. The institutional approach to studying society in classical interpretation includes five main social institutions ensuring stability of social system: family, state (politics), economics (manufacturing), education, religion. Nowadays, medicine is to be considered as an independent social institution and to proceed its investigation in the light of opening opportunities from positioning of sociology. The article minutely considers process of transformation of medicine into basic institution at the turn of XX-XXI centuries. At that it is emphasized that evolution process of institutionalization of medicine requires a new in-depth comprehension with regard to modern social transformational processes in the system of health protection. Simultaneously, an understanding is required concerning such fundamental aspects as changing situation in health care system, transformation of views of patient on process of medical care support and one's expectations from health care system, alterations of concepts of patient-physician relationships and re-arrangement of models of interaction of individual person with state, society, social institutions and groups.